Dh60.3b budget passed

Ajman development now aims to accommodate 50,000 people, down from original goal of 200,000

Education and social development get lion’s share as the UAE Federal National Council passes the 2019 federal budget|

Ambitions for the $60 billion (Dh220.38 billion) Al Zorah real estate project have been scaled down as the UAE experiences a widespread real estate slump, sources involved in the project said yesterday.

Al Zorah, located along the coast of Ajman, will aim to accommodate some 50,000 people, down from an original goal of 200,000, Oussama Kabbani, the chief operating officer of Lebanese developer Solidere International Ltd, said. Solidere is building Al Zorah jointly with the government of Ajman.

The project’s chief executive Imad Dana said the development is offering relaxed payment plans in response to tough market conditions, and added that it will take at least 15 more years to complete the project, which was due to be finished by 2023. About half of the land originally set aside for Al Zorah was returned to the Ajman government in 2010, Dana said.

The developers’ ambitions were crimped as property prices dropped throughout the UAE over the last year, with supply continuing to expand despite subdued employment growth and less robust demand for housing.

Al Zorah is now exploring joint ventures with investors and other developers to fund plans for residential and commercial facilities in the project, the sources said. They were also in talks with UAEbased company Gems Education to build a school there.